Big Gus Goes Off the Map at the Paradise Tattoo Gathering

Alright, this year’s trip to Paradise Tattoo Gathering was super cool, and I also had a chance to go to Off The Map Tattoo and guest-spot the week of the show.

Let’s just say that the name Off The Map is fitting! It’s in small town USA where nobody locks their doors or cars, which seemed weird to me because back home in L.A. we lock up everything, including the dogs…

My first and only tattoo at Off The Map was some chicano-style tattoo. It was a great idea… This guy asked me to do almost his whole front torso in just two days! I said, “Wow, you sure about that homes?” He was sure. He wanted an Aztec warrior and snake pits with an Aztec calander in the background. I got my reference together, slapped it on, and off I went.

I wish I had progress shots, but I don’t. Sorry, I’m new at this blog thing… Here is the finished piece. It took two days, about 20 hours or so to finish.

After a long night we were off to the Paradise Tattoo Gathering, which is about two hours away. I was super hungover… Hey, what can I say? I was enjoying Springfield, MA the night before with the crew, Max and Bill. Thanks for showing me around!

Once we got there, got set up, and met up with some friends, I headed down to do the opening discussion panel with some great guys, Bob Tyrrell, Jeff Gougé, Shawn Barber, Chris Dingwell and Durb. It was based on ‘What It Takes’ to be an artist at our level. Hmmm… Our level? I just love to draw all the time! But the panel turned out great.

The whole weekend, I did celebrity D.O.D style tattoos. One of Maxumi Max and the other of Jessica Alba. Each took about 6 -8 hours.

That Sunday was one of the greatest moments in my tattoo career. I taught a seminar with my good friend Bob tyrrell and also tattooed somebody at the same time with him, man what a daydream-moment that was!

So… I get to tattoo somebody with BOB TYRRELL, and guess what? We didn’t even get a picture! The kid was so excited, he ran off to enter Tattoo of the Day, and the dude never came back! What the hell?

All in all, it was a fun weekend. I won some awards, stayed up late drawing with good friends, saw tons of great art, and met some new artist that kick ass! Thanks Gabe, Max, Ben and the rest of the Off The Map crew for a great show and awesome guest spot. ‘Til next time, homies!

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